Chapter 31

"There's still such a thing?!"

His father-in-law, after all a seasoned veteran, after several analyses, Zhao Si stared dumbfounded:

Exactly!

Think about it: if humans are truly the protagonists of the Heavenly Dao, then even if Di Jun wanted to slaughter humans, he would only dare to incite the Demon Race's ethnic emotions to indirectly wipe them out. The Heavenly Court under his leadership would not dare to participate from start to finish, not even to express an attitude, showing just how great the risk is.

After all, you are trying to kill the Heavenly Dao's beloved son; if they really all died, the Heavenly Dao's intervention would be no empty threat—whoever touches them would die, the Heavenly Dao would strike, and no related person would survive!

And Di Jun incited the entire Demon Race to slaughter humans, hoping to avoid risk with the 'no punishment for many' tactic, betting that the Heavenly Dao would not annihilate the wilderness just for humanity; if so, no matter how angry the Heavenly Dao, it could only compromise, holding its nose and accepting.

But while the idea is good, reality is cruel; the Heavenly Dao might indeed compromise with all wilderness beings because of the 'no punishment for many' principle, but that doesn't mean the matter is simply let go.

The masses cannot be blamed, but someone must take the fall; kill the one who takes the fall, and the Heavenly Dao can vent its anger—thus a win-win.

"ABCD!"

【You seek help from your father.】

【"Are you Jin Bing?"】

"If we really go head-to-head, Di Jun and Tai Yi, these two brothers at Quasi-Sage peak cultivation, plus the Innate Supreme Treasure Chaos Bell and the top-grade Spirit Treasure River Chart and Luo Book, plus Kun-Peng and other Heavenly Court mighty ones, plus the top killing formation Heavenly Stars, with all our resources poured in, we could only end up in mutual destruction with the Ancestral Wu lacking Hou Tu... optional!"

【"Your purpose, my family's ancestor has agreed."】

【He smiled, then lowered his voice: "However, I still suggest you first go to Tang Valley before seeking those barbarians; Xi He happens to be absent, you can go in and try…"】

After muttering a few complaints, Zhao Si began to ponder his answer:

Although the secondary charge is also serious, with a kind-hearted scapegoat helping to share the burden, and given that he will have seized the Primordial Purple Qi and become a saint, thus becoming one of the Heavenly Dao's enforcers, the Heavenly Dao will likely deal leniently…

"Tiger, ox, whale… their strength is doubtful, and they are acquired tribes, so their identification with the Demon Race might be relatively high… I won't pick them for now…"

Zhao Si cursed silently, realizing that Di Jun's sudden abdication was fishy—turns out he'd been waiting for me here?!

He patted his butt and left, abdicating the throne to the protagonist Jin Bing; then the first unlucky one could only be the current Heavenly Emperor, and only after that would it fall to this former Heavenly Emperor, Di Jun.

Soon after, Zhao Si had chosen his target for division:

【Gold Flood Dragon King fell into deep thought…】

"Most importantly, the Twelve Ancestral Wu are very strong!"

Who is the direct administrator of the Wilderness?

The Heavenly Dao also vented its anger, fiercely avenging its beloved son!

Great, perfect—so who is the scapegoat?

The answer is beyond doubt:

"The Wu Clan… in classic wilderness there was a Wu-Demon war; although this version's later plot has different reasons, there is still a great war, and the Wu Clan, long oppressed by the Heavenly Court, does not feel strong allegiance to the Demon Race."

【After your father-in-law cursed the Heavenly Emperor a few times, he gradually calmed and considered countermeasures; his first reaction was to swiftly cut ties with you, this unlucky thing…】

【Now only one path lies before you: completely turn to humanity, lead humanity to truly smash the Demon Race, win a total victory, and establish humanity's ruling status in the wilderness!】

【Blessing arrives, a plan comes to mind; you intend to split the Demon Race, winning over a portion of powerful tribes that reject the Demon Race concept to join the human camp!】

【"Among demons I am a demon; among dragons I am a dragon… now I represent humanity," you calmly reply.】

【Demon Race… split…】

【"Do you represent the Dragon Clan or the Demon Race?"】 the other asks again.

【Gold Flood Dragon King spreads his hands, unable to help…】

【A: Wu Clan. B: Phoenix Clan. C: Qilin Clan. D: Dragon Clan. E: Tiger Clan…】

【But perhaps in this lifetime the father-son interaction time far exceeds that of the previous life, and with time's influence, the father's feelings toward you have also changed somewhat; after much thought, this time he decides to do his utmost to protect you!】

【But unexpectedly, as you just approached the Crystal Palace, a dignified person wearing an Azure Dragon robe came forward to meet you…】

【"Yes." You are puzzled but do not conceal it.】

【He, with the mindset of a seasoned veteran, plotted for you, thinking that since the Heavenly Emperor wants you to be a baseless bare-bones commander, you must instead deny him that wish, and the slaughter plan you agreed upon with him should be halted unilaterally at once.】

【The other suddenly asked you an unrelated question.】

【As he spoke, he suddenly smiled: "No need to doubt; you are also a legitimate Azure Dragon, and if you truly can become emperor and rule the wilderness, my clan will share in the glory!"】

This time the options are numerous, basically listing all the powerful tribes that can be counted in the wilderness, and marked as a 'multiple-choice question', indicating the answer is not unique—you can try them all.

"There have been single-choice, fill-in-the-blank, short-answer, and even essays; this time we finally have multiple-choice… next time just hand out a test paper for me to do."

【"Have you already obtained the Ancestral Dragon's inheritance?"】

【A string of divisible targets appeared in your mind; you choose (?) this question is a multiple-choice.】

【You made up your mind, said goodbye to your parents, and headed to the nearest Dragon Clan stronghold, the 'Crystal Palace'.】

【The Crystal Palace is the homeland of the true Dragon Clan of the East Sea; it is both the direct successor of the primeval Dragon Clan and the supreme power ruling over the myriad aquatic tribes beneath the East Sea's azure waves, one of the Heavenly Court's most important vassals; in the eyes of second-rate clans like the Gold Flood Dragon Clan, the oppression of the true Dragon feels far greater than that of the distant Heavenly Court!】

As for why not pass it to Tai Yi, Xi He, Kun-Peng, or even consider the ten sons?

This is clearly to separate them from blame, to protect them, right?

Tai Yi is the younger brother, Xi He the elder sister, Kun-Peng the left and right arms, the Sun Star Lord and others are top-tier loyal dogs, the ten little golden crows are the sons, and Di Jun isn't brain‑damaged—how could he let them go to their deaths…

【Gold Flood Dragon King frowned…】

【You weighed your words along the way, wanting to convince the True Dragon King with a silver tongue, but this is essentially a 'starting with nothing' ploy; you are not optimistic about its success, hesitating over what benefits to promise the True Dragon King to gain support.】

【Although the other asked, they clearly know you, so you did not hide your identity, openly admitting who you are.】

【"You have to win first, then they will turn around!"】

【Hearing this all‑or‑nothing advice, you feel it's extreme yet indeed there is no alternative; however, this choice faces a serious problem: humanity is still not strong enough, the gap in hard power versus the Demon Race as a whole is huge, the lack of top‑tier combat power like Great Luo and Quasi‑Sage is a fatal flaw.】

The Demon Race won the victory, thoroughly purging the innate noble humans!

【After hearing your father‑in‑law's anxious analysis, you exclaimed that you'd been tricked! Then your heart panicked; thinking of your future fate, you felt afraid, and when the children are left helpless, you naturally look to your parents for help.】

【"As for those two old fogies over there, you don't need to go; my family's ancestor will negotiate with them…… Right now, besides those barbarians, don't seek anyone else—they're all fence‑sitters who will only betray you."】

【You choose options A, B, C, D, winning over the Wu Clan, Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Clan!】

"Dragon, Phoenix, Qilin… these three primeval old fogies have little allegiance to the Demon Race, very proud; strength-wise… I don't know if they have Quasi‑Sage, but Great Luo is definitely not lacking, so we can try splitting them."

【「Human strength alone is naturally far inferior to that of the Demon Race, but the Demon Race is not a monolith either; the Heavenly Court's concept of the Demon Race remains ultimately too illusory…… Perhaps, you can start from this point. 」】

Who is the initiator and direct participant of the human-slaughter plan?

Who, in official terms, holds the highest status and power in the entire Wasteland, and also bears the greatest responsibility to stop the slaughter of humans?

「Besides the Heavenly Emperor, who else could it be? 」

【It's not his fault, for given his ability he truly cannot help you solve this life‑threatening problem, but he still did his best to point you toward a clear path。】

【「Di Jun can scheme against my junior dragons; then you go scheme against his own son—it wouldn't be excessive either! 」】

……

(End of chapter)